Posted 1 year ago on Jan. 27, 2014, 12:58 p.m. EST by flip
(7101)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

By Ajamu Baraka It is difficult to call this week’s gathering in Montreux, Switzerland, a “peace conference” on Syria, since the U.S. and its allies are determined to change the regime by force of arms. Washington has forged an “unholy alliance with its “Wahhabi allies from Saudi Arabia and al-Qaeda,” who act as America’s “boots on the ground.”

There is one thing that the so-called peace conference on Syria is guaranteed to achieve and that is that when the last speech is made and the delegates leave the hall, the grotesque bloodletting and devastation will continue for the people of Syria. Why? Because for the Obama Administration, the diplomatic process was never intended to bring about a peaceful resolution to the war. Its main purpose was always to affect their main strategic objective – the removal of President Bashir al-Assad from power and the disappearance of Syria as an independent state.

Fidelity to this goal continues to drive U.S. policy. U.S. strategists care little about the fact that, in their quest to oust the Syrian President, they have created an unholy alliance between the U.S. and its Wahhabi allies from Saudi Arabia and al-Qaeda as their “boots on the ground.” It is an alliance that ensures that, should the Al-Assad government fall, the Syrian people will either live under totalitarian fundamentalist Wahhabi rule or see their country disappear as a coherent state and into warring factions.

By juxtaposing U.S. rhetoric that expresses concerns for democracy, pluralism and the human rights of the Syrian people with actual U.S. decisions, we see a dramatic illustration of the astonishing hypocrisy of U.S. policies. The Obama Administration understood the scale of human suffering it would unleash in Syria by arming, funding, training and providing political support for the opposition—opposition that it moved from a non-violent protest movement to a violent insurgency, as part of its larger geo-strategic plan for the region.

That is why commitment to regime change, rather than to a peace based on Syrian realities and the needs of the Syrian people, is the price of admission to this week’s conference in Montreux, Switzerland. It is a conference that it would be more accurate to call a ‘war conference’ rather than a ‘peace conference’ due to U.S. Secretary of State Kerry’s insistence on keeping the scope of the agenda confined to the terms of the Geneva I communique, which calls for a political transition in Syria.

The Syrian National Coalition is a mirage. Its “Free Syrian Army” has no standing and the most effective fighters are the al-Qaeda linked jihadists armed by the U.S. and the Saudi government. They are now the real power brokers on the ground.

For these fighters, Geneva II is an irrelevant sideshow that has no bearing on them and they have rejected the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition. So who does the Syrian National Coalition represent, when the bulk of the fighters have shifted to al-Qaeda and the other more than 1,000 Islamist rebel groups that between them have 100,000 fighters, all united in their commitment to a post-Assad state in which Sharia, or Islamic Law, will be established throughout Syria?

Yet on January 16, Kerry restated the U.S. position on Geneva 2. "It is about establishing a process essential to the formation of a transition government body -- governing body -- with full executive powers established by mutual consent," he told reporters.

The consent of whom? Who assumes power and will a new government represent the aspirations for democracy, civil liberties, workers’ rights, respect for religious and community difference that the “revolution” promised or is Syrian’s future already written from the Libyan experience?

There are now voices inside and outside the Administration saying that the U.S. should abandon the Syrian National Coalition and work instead with the Salafi-Wahhabi fundamentalists who have joined together under the umbrella of the Islamic Front (IF) and are being presented as the “moderate” alternative to the radicalism of al-Qaeda. However, the Syrian people, who have a history of secularism and respect for different religions, have not signed on to a post-Assad society and government ruled by a group that has publically stated its opposition to democracy and intention to establish an Islamic state under Sharia law.

But who cares what the Syrian people want? It does not seem to matter to the U.S. that supporting Salafi-Wahhabi fundamentalism is the antithesis of the justification it gave for supporting the “revolution” against al-Assad. It does not matter because in the end the interests of the Syrian people are of little concern to these policymakers who prioritize U.S. imperialist interests above every other consideration.

In the long annuls of crimes by U.S. and Western imperialism, the slow, protracted destruction of the Syrian state, including the tens of thousands of lives sacrificed, is starting to emerge as one of its most significant crimes. It can be listed with crimes like the Christmas season carpet bombing of North Vietnam in 1972 and the millions murdered in Iraq during the period of sanctions and full-blown military attack.

In this era in which war is peace and wars are fought for “humanitarian purposes,” it is hard for many to get to the truth. But one thing is certain—the humanitarian disaster in Syria that was supposed to be the justification for intervention by the U.S. and its allies will continue unabated for the foreseeable future.

Ajamu Baraka is a human rights activist, organizer and writer. He is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, D.C. and editor and contributing columnist for the Black Agenda Report. Baraka’s latest publications include contributions to two recently published books “Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA” and “Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral.”

27 Comments

''Americans who oppose war better get prepared now. There has been a long-term agenda to remove the Assad family from power in Syria and the US foreign policy establishment has not given up on that goal, nor have US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia. This seems to be one more time when peace negotiations are a likely prelude to war unless the people of the US see through these actions and prevent it.'' from :

BAM x 2 !!! That is a simply excellent presentation of unspoken and under-reported realities !! I just had several 'OMG' moments and it is easily the best video I've ever seen on You-tube (sans volume too lol) & EVERYONE who's remotely interested in these matters needs to watch it & maybe pursue some of the embedded links therein ! Many thanx for this excellent contribution to this developing thread Renneye.

If enough of the populace could see this information, and understand the real reasons why wars are fought...that they are indeed 'created', and how entire populations are manipulated and slaughtered for greed and power...they would, I think, be able to make the connection that in reality, all wars are based on lies.

Given that Michel Chossudovsky from www.globalresearch.ca and my views on things are kind of simpatico, I came upon this one that has some on Syria and how it fits in the more panoptic view of the 'much' bigger plan. You'll undoubtedly recognize a few of the characters in this war 'theater'.

The event was organized by the German daily “junge Welt”. This year, the Rosa Luxemburg Conference marked the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

In this regard, the history of wars is important because it helps us understand today’s wars.

Our objective is World Peace. Our objective is to criminalize war.

The concept of the Long War is part of US military doctrine since the end of World War II. In many regards, todays wars are a continuation of the Second World War.

Worldwide militarization is also part of a global economic agenda, namely the application of the neoliberal economic policy model which has led to the impoverishment of large sectors of the World population." ~

''If enough of the populace could see this information, and understand the real reasons why wars are fought...that they are indeed 'created', and how entire populations are manipulated and slaughtered for greed and power...they would, I think, be able to make the connection that in reality, all wars are based on lies.'' Deep. Ditto. Thanx for your excellent comment and links and in compliment :

That link/video was very enlightening to me, thanks. The neoiberal agenda which President Obama inherited and carries on is evil in that it claims the lives so many innocent people. And the fact that our MSM is a tool of all this killing is despicable.

If only the US and other tyrannical countries would make intelligent peaceful choices like Latin American and Caribbean countries are, humanity would be well on it's way to achieving a society that is freed, to experience dignity and love. It's only a beginning, of course, but they're clearly moving in the right direction.

Thanks for posting that link. I don't have time to find the link but Syria, Iran, and Iraq are 3 of only a very few countries that refuse to go through the BIS, (Bank of International Settlements), for their transactions. With the emergence of BRICS, there may be powerful forces trying to prevent others from joining, possibly explaining current events in Ukraine.

karen Hudes has been more focused on the Vatican, gold, and the Jesuits lately and I have quit trying to follow her. I had not known about the pipeline issue.

Regarding the Ukraine, I've seen similar information about the BIS involvement, and here are a couple of current links that would corroborate.

The Ruling Oligarchy's tentacles reach through most of the global Alphabet Soup agencies, as I'm sure you're aware.

The BRICS emergence is, of course, interesting...but one can't help but think that replacing one criminal Oligarchic cabal with another will not be any good for anyone, long-term.

The only way out for humanity, from under the thumb of dynastic family rulers is to be safely locked into a 'People's Society'. Governance "By the People, For the People". NO-ONE will care for the whole of humanity better than humanity itself. It really is that simple, imo.

There really is a mountain of evidence readily available (but for how long?), that categorically and disturbingly shows, that close to everything we think we know, is wrong. I long for humanity to know her truths.

I watched a video narration of a book a few days ago about the Ukraine. But, the book is written and narrated by such a controversial person, that I can not post it on the forum. Some of the wusses here can not take truth if it comes from someone they would otherwise not like, I think. I don't like those kinds of 'blanket dismissals'. I take my truth wherever I can get it! (Or perhaps, it's just me who's a wuss, lol!). So, I'll send it to you via PM.

The book is written by someone who studied and met with the Russian philosopher and Nobel Prize recipient 'Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn', regarding the Bolshevik Revolution and the Ukrainian Holodomor. Ninety-nine percent of people have no clue of the scale of the genocide there, or that it even happened. What an eye-opener. There's so much that's kept from the general public.

Karen Hudes, in my view, is a hero. Like other whisltleblowers who become well known enough to be speaking to the public on an ongoing basis, she is going to go through the price of being made to look a fool, by being given disinformation so as to discredit her. Hopefully, she and the others working with her, will stay the course...and over time garner long term trusted sources. Her work on exposing the Vatican and the Jesuits are most interesting and I'm following intently, albeit cautiously.

Thanks kindly, Windy, for your ongoing work here, despite the attempts at derailment of the bigger picture for humanity.

Please, also see, for a more panoptic view of how the war is unfolding and why;

The original comment of yours flip - which was on BCT & to which both Renneye and I responded above, seems to have been ''removed'' well after it was made. I am really not digging and actually very explicitly questioning this manipulation of the narrative flow of this thread in such a manner by 'TPTB' !! Also fyi :

good post. Things in the ME look bad but there are good things occuring as long as we aren't involved. Look what Tunisia accomplished with their constitution. I posted a link on it's final draft and must say I'm impressed. I was actually surprised no one else beat me to it considering the role the arab spring played in occupies initial protests.

I have found little info but I read it and liked almost all of it. The only real issue is they appointed a state religion. They also guarantee freedom of belief though I am not sure if that means other religions or atheists can run for office. They mention woman's rights, the environment, education, science, and others. Check it out. A strong constitution is essential for a democracy as long as the people are involved. Our constitution is the main thing which has left us the few rights we have left and it can help us fight back if we can get engaged as an electorate.

correct - if you have ever gone to court to try to enforce one you would know that for sure. I did twice - that is how stupid I am - at the end of the second time my lawyer said "the court system is not about right and wrong - its about business!"

good point. I shoud have said it has kept the attacks from being even worse. I think the public would have allowed the kind of things happening now even earlier. But we are now getting to the border of democracy and oligarchy and things are just getting to blatent for us to pretend nothing is happening. It reminds me of the chinese curse 'may you live in interesting times.'